The cause of the fire, which began in Upper Swan, is being investigated.

Residents of the golf-course suburb The Vines were called by emergency services with a watch and act warning just after midday, advising them a fire was approaching.

Less than half an hour later, the alert had jumped to emergency level in the northern part of the suburb and residents were told they needed to act immediately to survive, but that it was too late to leave.

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Many were already evacuating as water bombers refilled from the golf course lakes amid fears the wind could help push the fire west to northern Ellenbrook.

The blaze was contained by nightfall but firefighters are still working to prevent it jumping containment lines.

One residents told talkback that the growing suburbs of Ellenbrook and The Vines, home to some 20,000 people, needed more access roads and would have been a "deathtrap" if a mass emergency had been required.

While the phone alert service worked well, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services website was overloaded with people also checking for alerts for Cyclone Rusty in the Pilbara, so redirected people to its Twitter account.